


instances

by libraryphiliac



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Emotions, Established Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Marauders Friendship, Marauders' Era, Past, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Vignette, this fic spans THREE GENERATIONS of people knowing remus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 08:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7040569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/libraryphiliac/pseuds/libraryphiliac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>son. student. friend. colleague. lover. comrade. teacher. uncle. husband. father.</p><p>(or, remus lupin to ten people in his life.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	instances

**Author's Note:**

> Hiiiii so, remember the fanfiction class I wrote my most recent fic for, yep, this is my final project for it, which is basically just me building up from '[Temporal Cartography](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6665020)'! This time, the one major constraint is basically just for each division/scenario not to go over a thousand words each. (Which... has resulted in my lengthiest work as of yet. Nice.)
> 
> None of these characters, nor the world they originally operated in, are mine! Just reminding y'all.

 

 

_**i n s t a n c e s**_  
(or, remus lupin to ten people in his life)

  
**  
**  
__  
**I. s o n .**  
  


It has been two weeks since the accident, and Remus hasn’t touched a book for the whole time. This, out of anything else, is what makes Hope sure that Remus is truly out of sorts. She slips inside Remus’s room quietly, trying not to wake him in case he has finally fallen asleep, but she need not have; as soon as she closes the door behind her, Hope catches a small movement, a five-year-old body turning away from the shadow in front of his door.

“Hi, sweetheart,” she murmurs, moving to sit by his side and sweep the hair off his face. “How are you feeling? Does it still hurt?”

Remus nods once, still facing away from her.

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” Hope wants to bundle him up in her arms and never, ever let anything bad ever happen to him again.

Remus must hear the shakiness in her breathing, because only then does he turn around to face her. “Mummy, you don’t have to be sorry,” he says, voice high and distressed. His face is scrunched up in confusion and guilt, pure and sincere in the way only the innocent and the children can ever hope to be. “It’s my fault, I was outside beyond bedtime, but I just wanted to see the full moon –”

“I know, darling, don’t worry, it’s not your fault.” Hope cups her son’s face, then reaches down and kisses him on the forehead. “Would you like me to read you a book tonight?”

Remus hesitates. “I – if it’s okay –”

Hope smiles. “Would I have offered if it wasn’t?”

“I – okay. Yes please.”

Once Remus has fallen asleep, Hope allows the tears to track down her face again. Her husband had explained to her what being bitten meant while Remus had been in the hospital, but it was only now that she had realised, truly, what being a werewolf would mean for him, for her, for their family. She hated her husband’s world, sometimes, and for many reasons, but not quite as much as the solid, cemented fact that Remus will not, will never be able to take part in it in any way, not if he wanted to fit in. Not if he wanted to be happy.

Hope hates being quite so unlike what her name tells her to be, but she will die first before she willingly lets her son live in a world where he is to be shunned, uncompromisingly, once someone finds out what he is.

The anger is strong, but the regret is stronger.

 

**_II. s t u d e n t ._ **

That Albus had permitted an eleven-year-old werewolf attendance into Hogwarts had never surprised Minerva in the least, but that the werewolf in question, Remus John Lupin, had been sorted into Gryffindor House had, if only for a few seconds after the Hat had boomed out its decision. Minerva had then become quite disappointed in herself for the internalised childhood prejudice she apparently was still able to retain after having been friends and colleagues with Albus Dumbledore for innumerable years, and the the disappointment (along with, of course, the overall astonishment and relief) had only deepened when she realised, once lessons started and his first year progressed into the second, how good and hardworking a student Remus Lupin actually was. Practical magic may not come as naturally as it does for James Potter or Sirius Black (who, for some reason, have taken him into their own unlikely clique), but Remus excels in magical theory – enough to keep Lily Evans on her toes as she vies for the top spot in her year.

It had been an interesting first year, for Minerva and the rest of the Hogwarts staff, filled with pranks that both incensed and amused her to no end. She suspected Lupin had quite a lot to do with the more ingenious acts of mischief performed by the mismatched group composed of him, Black, Potter, and Peter Pettigrew. (There hasn’t been any proof, of course, that it was the four of them, but Minerva has spent a lot of time teaching in Hogwarts’s hallowed walls, and she knew how pranksters worked. Sooner or later, they would begin to crave recognition, and sooner or later, her four Gryffindors will have to deal with her directly.)

Their second year, however, is shaping up to be rather… alarming. Minerva had become quite caught in this particular batch of students, and can’t quite help herself from keeping track of the drama that keeps an establishment like a private co-ed boarding school alive. This year, it seems the drama is to be found around these particular group of Gryffindors.

Minerva had noticed a bit of a split between the group – Black seems to have taken it upon himself to storm off whenever Lupin arrives in any casual setting, and has also started sitting as far away from Lupin as can be permitted every time he can’t physically get away. Potter is clearly torn between going after Black and sticking by Lupin, and while Pettigrew seems to be steadfast in his fast-developing case of hero-worship for Potter and is staying by Potter’s side, Lupin clearly does not want to be a source of conflict and has begun isolating himself from the rest of his year, striking up a rather expected friendship with Lily Evans.

Albus tells her quietly it may have something to do with the full moon. Minerva did not want to believe it at first, but her students’ reactions make sense. Black may be a Gryffindor, but prejudice has been ingrained to him since infancy.

 _Good heavens_ , Minerva thinks, once she realises how… invested she truly is. _I must be getting soft_. She then resolves to keep an eye out for further developments, and only provide her subtle intervention once this prepubescent nonsense lasts for another week.

(Minerva reasons that she really is only looking out for Lupin. The boy shows potential of having a good, solid chance to rise past his affliction and become something rather remarkable. Minerva supposes she sees something of herself in him, as well.)

Apparently, she need not have started preparing herself mentally for a potential conference with her students, though, as in the following day, she sees the four boys enter the Great Hall together. They are laughing, Black thumping Pettigrew on the back while Potter cackles and Lupin covers his mouth, and the way they sit in their usual place in the Gryffindor table indicates they have… made up.

Minerva’s lips quirks in something that may resemble a smile.

 

**_III. f r i e n d ._ **

Peter has never really understood Remus, not in the three years he has known and been friends with him – has never really fully grasped just why James and Sirius decided to befriend him. (Well, Peter himself still hasn’t fully grasped how he’s friends with James and Sirius, but ever since third year began and the two of them started getting noticed by girls and he and Remus don’t, he’s beginning to get inklings as to why.)

A large part of Remus’s mystery was lifted off him once James figured out he was actually a werewolf (“– and is not chronically ill, nor has a mother who is chronically ill –”) but some still remains, draping itself around the boy in his personality, his attitude, how his mind works, and right now, Remus’s reaction to being told what he has just been told leaves Peter blinking in the dust of how unexpected it is.

“You _what?_ ” If Peter didn’t know better, he’d say Remus was… angry?

He’s confused. He voices as much. “Why are you angry, Remus? We thought you’d be –” Peter exchanges a glance with James. “Happy. Grateful, even.”

“ _Grateful?_ ” Remus hisses, flushed and hectic, and Peter recoils a bit and resolves to shut his mouth until James and Sirius figure this out. Remus whirls on James. “You thought I’d be grateful?”

James stands his ground. “Yes, Remus, since we, your friends, have decided to _help you_ because we felt you need it. And because we want to help you, you idiotic tit.” James’s eyes are as as steely as his voice and posture behind glasses.

“Well, thank you, but you could be arrested because how you have decided to ‘help’ me is – is – it’s _illegal_!” Remus looks like he’s ready to explode. “I can’t have my friends get arrested for my sake!”

Peter gets a flash of both understanding and further confusion. “Remus, we aren’t –”

“Shut the hell up, you gigantic tosser, and LET US HELP YOU ALREADY!” Sirius has finally decided to speak up then. Peter is relieved they are in their dormitory. He was beginning to worry Sirius would explode in a mess they would have to clean up if he didn’t start yelling soon.

“We have _decided_ to be bloody _Animagi_ for you and you _can’t_ even be _thankful_ for it,” Sirius says angrily. Every word is accentuated with a step closer to Remus, who is standing with his arms crossed and his jaw clenched. “We even did _research_ , you idiot, James made me step inside the library, and we’ve even managed to discover what animals we’d be, and we rushed here as soon as we could because Peter had suggested telling you would be the best birthday gift and you – you – _you ruin it!_ By getting _angry!_ Because we wanted to be good friends and _HELP YOU!_ ”

The last word is a finger jabbed into Remus’s chest. Sirius’s face is so close to Remus’s Peter is worried for a split-second they’d start snogging then and there, but that is before Remus deflates and brings his hands up to his face.

“ _Fucking_ – Merlin, Jesus _god_ mother of Christ in Morgana’s bloody trousers,” comes muffled as Remus begins to sink to the bed beside him.

“What the – Remus, you don’t swear.” Sirius quickly crouches down and tugs on one of Remus’s wrist. “Are you – are you crying?”

“Black, you tit.” James erupts into laughter as he takes a running leap onto the bed. “You made Moony cry!”

“‘Moony’?” warbles Remus into his hands. Sirius is still ineffectively clinging to his wrist.

“Yeah, and I’m Wormtail.” Peter grins and clambers beside the other three, grateful for something lighter to contribute. “James is Prongs, Sirius is Padfoot. Can you guess which animals we are from those nicknames?”

Remus begins to hiccup, and finally lets Sirius tug his hands away from his face. “No. I don’t – wait,” he turns to Sirius. “Are you a dog?”

“You bet I am,” Sirius says with a toothy grin. He looks like a canine already, Peter thinks.

“So, we’re doing this, then?” James looks around pointedly, then addresses Remus. “No backing out or any other hissy fits?”

“Oh, as long as Moony gets to do the research, he’ll be fine,” Peter decides to quip. “I bet the main reason he got so angry he started to cry was because he missed a chance to go to the library.”

Remus huffs a “Oh, shut up, Wormtail” but his answering smile as he looks at each of them is enough of an answer, if a little bit wet, a little more shaky.

Peter may never get to fully understand who Remus is, but he has never been as thankful that he and him are friends.

 

**_IV. c o l l e a g u e ._ **

Lily could not believe the relief she felt when she discovered it was Remus who was the other prefect for Gryffindor, and not bloody Potter. There had been a distinct possibility, after all, of Potter getting chosen as prefect (he did have good grades, if that had been the sole basis for selection), and Lily had spent the few days’ intermission between receiving Remus’s reply to her frantic owl after receiving her badge in gripping terror over possibly being forced to work with that arrogant dish towel.

At the moment, however, Lily is having trouble remembering why she had wanted Remus as a colleague in the first place, even if Potter had been the alternative. It’s been two years since they’ve both been chosen to be prefects, and while Remus has excused himself from patrol a handful of times, citing vague, mysterious illnesses (while looking a bit fairly under the weather), this time, it was absolutely unacceptable and Lily was putting her foot down.

“Remus, you can’t possibly expect me to let you off the hook for a party!”

To his credit, Remus did look extremely guilty, standing in front of her with a face not unlike a child who was caught nicking a pound from his mum’s purse. “Yes, of course, I mean I would never, um, well – if you could just, I mean, er – ”

Oh, for Merlin’s sake. Lily crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow.

“Well, you see, I – er – I was sort of, um, put in charge of – ah – of, of Peter’s birthday surprise? For, uhhhh-mmmm, for tomorrow? And, well, you see, he’s, ah, he’s sort of one of my best mates and I would never dream of, erm, of ditching him…?” Remus trails off and manages to look up at her despite being several inches taller. Both of her eyebrows have taken residence higher up on her forehead now.

“Did you really expect me to believe that, Remus? I know Pettigrew’s birthday isn’t even for another two months.” Lily’s face softens as Remus sighs in defeat.

“Why did I think I could fool you,” he says, shaking his head.

“What’s the real reason you won’t be able to go on patrol duty, Remus?” She steps forward and places a hand on his arm. He doesn’t shake it off, which is a relief. Lily has had her theories on why Remus goes missing every few weeks, but if she’s right, she wants Remus to tell her himself.

Remus’s face goes a bit uncomfortable, and he fidgets some before saying in a low, sincere voice, “I didn’t want to tell you I was feeling ill again. It’s become a rather overused excuse by now, hasn’t it?” He looks directly in her eyes.

Lily suppresses a sigh. Not this time, then. “Sure,” she says, stepping away. “Okay, fine, Remus, you don’t have to go on patrol tonight. But please be careful, won’t you?”

“What do you mean?” The confusion seems genuine.

“Nothing. I’m just worried about you.”

He smiles. “Thank you, Lily. I owe you.” Lily smiles gently back.

“See you at dinner, Lupin.” She turns and walks away.

Working with Remus was like working with a cheerful, intelligent, sunny _enigma_. There are so many layers to him that he keeps guarded around thick but completely transparent walls; you know he’s deflecting your questions and doing nothing to reveal himself truly, but you cannot help but be drawn in by his personality anyway. If Lily had only been a colleague from the start, she wouldn’t care, she genuinely wouldn’t. Remus may be a riddle sometimes, but his work ethic is solid and uncompromising, and she enjoys his presence and the results of his work, and if it wasn’t for the semi-frequent absences he would be _the_ perfect prefect. But Remus is her friend, and she can’t help but be concerned.

The next morning at breakfast, the school is abuzz with the rumour that someone tried to kill Severus Snape last night with the Whomping Willow, and neither he, James Potter, Sirius Black, nor Peter Pettigrew are nowhere to be seen. A cold block of worry settles in Lily’s stomach.

The primal howl that echoed across the grounds last night rings again in her ears.

 

**_V. l o v e r ._ **

Sirius wakes up with a heavy body wrapped around him like the giant squid’s warmer, handsomer, more comfortable brother. There’s a gentle rumble in his chest, and Sirius squirms and settles even more comfortably in the circle of Remus’s arms. Even in sleep, the bloke manages to smell faintly of chocolate, which, in Sirius’s book, makes him a perfectly acceptable body pillow.

The movement stirs Remus awake, however. “Mrrmph,” he says into Sirius’s hair. “Hrrm.”

Sirius grins, sweeping the strands of Remus’s fringe from his face as the other boy slowly opens his eyes. “Good morning.”

“Mm-hmm. Yes. Quite. Good morning to you, too,” comes the quiet greeting. Remus turns away to yawn hugely. He stretches around for a bit when he stiffens and looks at Sirius. “Oh, my. Today’s our graduation, isn’t it?”

Sirius’s grin grows wider. “Yep, yes it is.”

A smile to match Sirius’s starts spreading across Remus’s face. “Oh, my indeed.”

Being with Remus, Sirius muses while he gets ready for the big day ahead of him, is much a bit like being with an anthropomorphic block of chocolate. _Yes_ , he decides. _Perfect metaphor_. Remus is sweet and warm on the best of days, velvety and comforting, a hot mug on a cold night to keep him warm and happy to his very toes, a cold, minty bar with a gooey filling that’s melt-in-your-mouth sticky and perfect when it’s a bright, sunny day to keep him company.

 _Ah_ , Sirius thinks. _Perhaps not really the best metaphor, then?_ Then he thinks of Remus’s reaction to being compared to chocolate, and decides to tell him about it later. _Maybe at the ceremony? Gotta distract him somehow so he doesn’t end up bawling like a baby once Dumbledore starts talking._

Remus is sweet, though, frightfully so. It took a bit of getting used to being together, Sirius could tell, on his own part and on Remus’s as well – both of them have grown up with an aversion to human touch, for one, of getting too close, physically and emotionally, to anyone, and it was a hurdle, it was a challenge, but it was Remus who took the steps to overcome it. Sirius remembers Remus being the one to link their fingers together, walk closer together, smile more sweetly and sit next to each other with their thighs pressed together, and it was a relief to not have been the one to initiate, to be the one to follow the lead for once, and he loved Remus for it. He remembers the roses, the chocolate, the letters and little notes they traded with each other – apparently both of them had a penchant for old-school romance, when it comes to something real.

Now, they are graduating, leaving Hogwarts for the Real World, leaving the safety of the castle, the easy comfort of their friends’ constant presence, the heady familiarity of their dormitory, of his bed. Sirius is going to be leaving everything that’s been all that he’s had since he was eleven, starting today, but – he chances a glance at the boy beside him, seventeen years old and loyal, strong, quick-witted and sharp and intelligent and funny, kind and warm and absolutely beautiful. If Sirius is lucky, he won’t be leaving _everything_ , after all.

He asks Remus if he wants to share a flat with him after graduation in the privacy of their dormitory later, and Remus says yes.

 

**_VI. c o m r a d e ._ **

“JAMES, GET _DOWN!_ ”

Remus’s voice is ringing in his ears as he drops to the ground, and not a second too late – he sees a sinister-looking purple jet of light whoosh right above him, and through slightly shaky vision he catches a glimpse of Remus running towards him and shooting bright red Stunner after Stunner after his attacker. One of them hits its target, and the thud of a body knocked out signals James he can finally get up.

He stands up and he and Remus are shoulder-to-shoulder, sending out spell after curse after hex to deter the attackers of the Muggle safe house they’re currently supposed to be protecting. They’re not shooting to kill; if they manage to get someone to talk once backup arrives, it will be a magnificent opportunity to get information.

 _Death Eaters_. The name leaves a bitter taste in James’s mouth. There are only three of them now, after Remus has taken one out. Hold on just to when back up arrives… There is a series of soft popping sounds just behind them. Ah. Just on time, then.

“ _Protego!_ ” is the first spell James hears, and he knows who cast it, and at whom. _Sirius, you gigantic sap._ He shakes his head with a grin.

“Prongs! We’re here now, you can rest your old bones.” Sirius strides into his his peripheral vision, shaking his hair out and smiling roguishly, like this entire encounter is a challenge to him, and a challenge he is easily going to win.

“Don’t go easy on them, Padfoot!” he yells, still backed up and shooting non-verbal spells as the remaining two Death Eaters continue their advance. He looks at Remus, a few metres away from him, posture upright and straight as he calmly deflects an enemy hex. “Moony here sure didn’t!”

“Shut your mouths, you fools, before someone loses a limb,” comes a growl from further to his right. _Ah, crap. Mad-Eye’s here._

“Begging your pardon, Mad-Eye, sir!” Sirius returns. He trades quick looks with James and Remus, an entire conversation held in eyebrow raises and head nudges, and James nods, another quick glance at Remus indicating he is on the same page as they are. James counts down to three on his fingers, and the three of them let loose a barrage of offensive curses to overpower their enemy. It works; all five Death Eaters are defeated, lying in various states of unconscious heaps of robes littered around the area.

While Mad-Eye rounds them up, James gets a hearty punch on the shoulder from Sirius before he goes to Remus. James allows them their moment of checking if the other is alright, and then James hollers at Sirius. “Oy, Black! Where’s Wormtail, then?”

Sirius turns around, leaving his and Remus’s pinkies linked together. “He’s at HQ, with Lily. Didn’t answer the summons as quick, said he was busy with… something, I think.”

“Right.” James nods, then he turns to address Remus. “Moony, you _absolute_ bloke,” he says fiercely, clapping a hand on Remus’s shoulder and then pulling him into a hug. “You saved my life. _Thank_ you.”

Remus manages to tamp down on the slight flush of embarrassment when he lets go, but the tips of his ears become a bit pink, and James grins. “I mean, obviously I would, wouldn’t I? You’re welcome.” He matches James’s grin. “I didn’t do it for you, you know, I did it for me and my safety. Don’t think I’d be able to survive Lily’s wrath if she finds out I got you injured.”

“I’m _hurt_. Here I thought you were my friend.”

“Potter, shut up and let him talk, what is this about, what happened?” Sirius cuts in. “Come on, Remus, regale me with your heroics, you know how I love my adventure stories.”

“That was rude, Sirius,” Remus tells him while James mock-splutters at Sirius. “But I screamed at James to get down, and thanks to that his wife will let me get away with my bollocks still attached.”

James chokes for real at that, and Sirius absentmindedly punched him in the back while he says thoughtfully, “Well, I do so like your bollocks…”

“OhmygodSiriusshut _up_ shutupshutup _NOW_.” James can’t quite breath, and is _infinitely_ thankful when Mad-Eye chooses that moment to yell at them to get their bony arses back to headquarters right now or Merlin so help him.

_**_VII. t e a c h e r ._ ** _

Hermione turns to face the boggart after clicking the trunk door shut above her and taking a deep breath – and freezes. She hadn’t known what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t –

“Ms Granger.” It is Professor McGonagall, at her most severe – lips a tight, almost-nonexistent line, back ramrod-straight, and the shortest and most clipped Hermione has ever heard her voice. Hermione holds on tight to the knowledge that this was only a boggart.

“Words cannot express how disappointed I am in you, Ms Granger,” the boggart tells her, and the way it says her name , in McGonagall’s voice – disgust, contempt, shame – makes her want to curl up in a ball and give up on her studies. “I have been teaching in this establishment since Merlin knows when, and in all my time as a professor and as a Head of House, I have never been as _appalled_ as when I read your essay. And to think, I _trusted_ you with a Time Turner! I thought you were up for the task! My most promising student…” McGonagall’s lips curl into a cruel sneer, and she shakes her head at Hermione.

“I am not sorry to say, therefore, – in fact, I take a certain pleasure in telling you – that you, _Ms Granger_ , have failed _all_ your classes this term. You are not a witch. You were never a witch. You are _expelled_.”

Hermione bursts out of the trunk, screaming bloody murder, and trips right into Professor Lupin’s startled arms.

“Hermione!” He sounds alarmed, and with good reason – in the distant back of her mind, Hermione supposes she must look silly, but right now her heart is still racing and her throat is still raw. “What’s the matter?”

“P – P – Professor McGonagall!” Her words are coming in gasps. “Sh – she said I’d failed _everything!_ ”

The professor’s face twitches a tiny bit, but he very quickly wraps a comforting arm around her shoulders and leads her away from the obstacle course he had devised for his final exam. They stop by the nearest tree. Hermione can feel Harry and Ron’s gaze on them, and then Lupin is looking her right in the eye.

“Hermione, Hermione, _calm down_ ,” he tells her, and Hermione realises with a jolt that she was still breathing rather erratically. She hurries to control her breathing. “There. How are you feeling?”

“Did I fail this exam?” she demands.

Lupin gives her a small smile. “No, Hermione. A deduction on this incident, of course, but other than that, your Defence marks are simply outstanding.”

Hermione releases a deep whoosh of air. “Thank you, Professor.”

“Now, I won’t ask you to tell me what happened inside in detail, but I do want you to know…” Here, Lupin lowers her voice conspiratorially. “You are a _magnificent_ witch, Hermione, and a brilliant student. I’m really rather lucky to have had the opportunity to teach you.”

Hermione can’t quite manage to repress the flush of embarrassment and pleasure at her favourite Professor’s praise. Before she can say anything in reply, however, Lupin is straightening up and telling her to go have lunch and ‘get to Harry and Ron before they start worrying too much’. He sends her off with another secret smile.

 

**_VIII. u n c l e ._ **

Harry never really got the chance to reflect on his Floo conversation with Sirius and Lupin about his father, after he got into Snape’s memories and saw how much of a bully his father and his friends were back in the day. Granted, the Weasley twins’ legendary escape from school, Umbridge, and their NEWTs was reason enough for this lack of thought on the matter, but Harry supposes now, the mad, grey, anxiety-ridden area between his final lessons and the start of his OWLs is as good a time as any to think about his father through the eyes of his godfather and his friend.

Well… not so much his _father_ , really. These days, any thought of James Potter brought only a rather sour taste in Harry’s mouth. Since he was eleven, Snape had made sure to inform him of how nasty his father had been, to him and to others, and Harry had never made much of it because – well. He had been sure James was good, in every aspect. A bit fun, a prankster, roguish, maybe, but not a _bully_. Now, Harry wasn’t so sure. The conversation with Sirius and Remus had alleviated some of his worry, but Harry discovered he would much rather think about his father’s friends instead.

Knowing Sirius the way he did now, Harry could understand, maybe a little, why he went along and seemed to be into his father’s antics regarding Snape. “A lot of people are idiots at the age of fifteen,” he had told Harry, and… fine.

It was Remus who confused him more. In the memory, Remus had not participated in Snape’s active maltreatment, but he hadn’t made a move to stop it, either. He had simply stood back and… let it happen. Harry had spent many hours contemplating and solidifying his dislike for bullies in his childhood, and when he was eight, he had reached the conclusion that those who lingered in the background and didn’t do anything about the abuse were just as bad as the actual bullies. It was just as easy to grab a kid by his shoulder and start hitting him as to slink into the crowd and do nothing. Harry is finding it quite hard to reconcile this with the Professor Lupin he knows. How could he? It was giving him a headache.

Harry’s thoughts linger on Remus throughout the rest of the week. Ever since he found out Sirius was living in the old Black mansion, Remus has apparently taken to staying in the dingy cold place to keep him company, and while Harry was grateful his godfather wasn’t spending all his time with only his mother’s nasty portrait and Kreacher to talk to, he also couldn’t help but wonder. More than ever, Harry wishes he could stay at Grimmauld Place for longer than a couple of weeks, keeping his godfather company and talking about his parents for ages, Lupin adding in commentary and quips about his father and about Sirius. Harry resolves to ask Sirius about it once he gets another chance to talk to him without Umbridge breathing down his neck. The package Sirius had given him last Christmas with instructions to use it to contact him should he feel the need to lies forgotten at the bottom of his trunk.

When Sirius fell, it was Lupin who held him back and stopped him from going after his godfather; Harry knows it was to protect him, but he has never been able to get rid completely of the tiny kernel of resentment that resides in his heart at the thought that if he _hadn’t_ , Harry would still have been able to bring Sirius back.

**_IX. h u s b a n d ._ **

Dora is woken by the tiny ‘click’ of the front door. She hears light footsteps coming towards her bedroom, but they stop at her door, and then she hears a deep sigh that sounds like a sob after a long pause, and the footsteps start again, but this time away from her.

Dora is out of their bed and wrenching their door open in moments.

“Remus.”

The man in front of her stops moving. The coat he is wearing is as threadbare as ever.

“How are you, Dora?” He asks this without turning around. His shoulders are stiff, his posture rigid.

“You left.”

The man in front of her stays silent this time.

“You left _me_ and your _baby_.”

“It is _not_ ––” Remus is on her in a flash, his words coming out in a choke, but Dora stands her ground and looks stonily up at him.

“Not what? I’m not your wife? You _didn’t_ try to abandon your family?” She’s taken steps closer to Remus, who seems to be crumbling away in front of her at her every word. “ _What_ , Remus?”

“I didn’t – I wasn’t –” Remus looks like he is on the verge of derangement. Finally, he looks Dora in the eyes. “I am so, _so_ sorry.”

There are a thousand, a million more things Dora could have said, wanted to say, but she crumbles too in the face of Remus and his eyes, his face, wild and lost and confused, guilty and ashamed, and she surges forward and rises up on her feet to envelope her beloved in the tightest, fiercest hug she could muster.

“You absolute _idiot_ ,” she murmurs into his ear, relieved beyond imagination when she feels him raise his arms and wrap them around her too. “I love you so much.”

Remus chuckles wetly. “And I you.”

When she pulls away, his eyes are red, his face is drawn and tired, but his lips are curved into a smile, and his arms are still clutching at her waist. Dora presses a light kiss to his mouth.

“Where did you go?”

“Ah.” Remus pulls away slightly in response, and Dora may not be a werewolf with keen senses, but she can practically smell the fresh wave of shame that rolls of her husband in waves.

“It’s okay. There’s plenty of time to be mad at you later,” she tells him with a wry smile.

“I went to… to Harry, back at Grimmauld Place.” Dora’s heart twists a bit at the mention of her cousin’s old house and the pain in Remus’s voice when he says it. The realisation, too, of what Remus had planned to do after leaving makes her hair turn a deep, dangerous red, but she says nothing, and motions for Remus to go on.

“I offered my assistance to aid in the quest Dumbledore left him, but he, um.” Remus lets go of her, but she keeps their hands linked. “Harry was curious why you were… not going to be with me, and I told them of your situation. He got extremely upset when I mentioned I was… going to be leaving you behind, should he accept my offer.”

“Jesus… _blimey_ , Remus.”

“I know, I know, I’m so sorry.” Remus looks at her blearily. “He called me a coward.”

Dora laughs bitterly, but she again takes him into her arms. One of his hands drifts below to rest on her still-flat belly, and he drops to his knees then and there.

“I’m so sorry, little one,” he whispers fiercely into her stomach. Dora is helpless against the tears that well in her eyes and fall on her cheeks. “I’ll never leave you.” He looks up. “And you. Ever again.”

Dora pulls him up into the most intense kiss she has ever given anyone.

 

**_X. f a t h e r ._ **

Teddy never knew his father. Nor his mother. Orphaned even before the age of one, according to the history books.

He takes pride in being a lot like his mother.

He has her abilities, for one – a Metamorphmagus, able to control and change his physical appearance at will. He’s stubborn, and dedicated, and loyal, and wicked smart – although according to uncle Harry, his godfather, the last one is more his father’s trait.

He’s a lot like his godfather too, Teddy muses, what with being orphaned as an infant, and through the same madman’s actions, as well.

He takes the most pride, however, in being compared to his father. His grandmother tells Teddy his father was deathly terrified he was going to pass on his condition him, and Teddy wishes his father were alive so he could know that he didn’t. Teddy isn’t a werewolf.

(He does have wolfish tendencies, though – he likes his meat on the bloodier side, and sometimes his canine teeth get a bit sharper when he’s angry, and he gets tired a lot around the time of the full moon, but he has his Uncle Bill to help him with that.)

He wishes his father were alive for a lot of reasons.

And his mother too, of course.

“Teddy! Time for dinner! We’re having steak tonight!”

It’s his grandmother. Teddy grins. Well, he supposes he’s not done too shabbily with his life right now. He takes a moment to look at the photograph of his parents on his bedside table, tells his parents “I love you,” and bounds down the stairs to dinner with his grandmother, his godfather, his girlfriend, and all his extended family. He’s just been told he was going to Head Boy. _This one’s for you, Dad._

**Author's Note:**

> good GOD i love lupin so much. he's literally the only character i've ever done this for, holy shit. thank you for reading!
> 
> also, some additional context on each scenario:
> 
> i. happened just after remus being bitten by greyback
> 
> ii. in my head, the boys have just cracked what remus really is and have confronted it about it. remus, well, what else can he do but _not_ deny, so he says yes, he is a werewolf, and sirius, bless his little pureblood soul, has been taught since infancy that werewolves are evil, vicious Dark creatures, and it's not that easy to get rid of that kind of prejudice, so, well, it... takes some getting used to, knowing that the boy who he has shared bed and bread with for more than a year now is actually one of those creatures he has once had nightmares about.
> 
> iii. rather self-explanatory, i should think. 
> 
> iv. this is in sixth year! remus has to skive off patrol duties once more because he's going to turn wolf later in the night. this is the night sirius sets snape on werewolf!lupin, unfortunately, and this is why the marauders are gone from the breakfast table the following morning.
> 
> v. g r a d u a t i o n . i... think...? this scenario _kind of_ maybe ties in with the graduation vignette from 'temporal cartography'? i'm not sure, but i tried.
> 
> vi. recently married james potter is assigned to guard a muggle safe house for the order and is partnered with remus lupin instead of his usual partners, either sirius or lily, but mad-eye wanted a bit of variety and turned this into a bit of a trust exercise, and partnered up randomly. thankfully for james, it was with remus. lily had said she wanted to try her hand at healing, and had therefore been stationed at headquarters in case of emergency.
> 
> vii. i was using my copy of _prisoner of azkaban_ as reference, and the scene portrayed in this vignette can be found in chapter sixteen, "professor trelawney's prediction." on page 319, in the american hardbound edition published by scholastic. (also don't sue me but if you detect a hint of remus/hermione tension there... it was unintentional and unconsciously infused into the scene)
> 
> viii. I HAD SO MUCH TROUBLE WITH HARRY OH MY _GOD_ IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY. his and teddy's are, i think, the shittiest in this work. anyway: the floo conversation took place in _order of the phoenix_ , in my copy it's in chapter twenty-nine, "career advice," and i can't tell you the pages because i used an e-book!
> 
> ix. in contrast to the previous scenario, however, i had the grandest time writing this scene with tonks, oh god. i love her. i love this. i may not truly believe in rema/dora but god damn i love remus so much i'm willing to go along with it. anyway, this was after harry, in true harry fashion, tells remus to fuck the fuck off in _deathly hallows_! (chapter eleven, "the bribe", pages 173-177 in the UK hard bound edition published by bloomsbury)
> 
> x. i... had absolutely NO IDEA what to do with teddy's part here, i just knew i had to put him and his relationship with remus. i never really got into the next gen era; perhaps that's why i felt no connection to him whatsoever?
> 
> anyway. so that's that. this was a very long end note. thank you for reading all the way here, if you did. you're amazing.
> 
> find me on [tumblr](http://inkstainedlouis.tumblr.com)! x


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